as we traveled north

by Michael Cooney

We talked to people from various states.

We looked for rest stops with convenient bathrooms.

I picked up take-out for the motel.

I carried your oxygen concentrator out to the car.

We crossed into Georgia and South Carolina.

Last year we went up into the Smoky Mountains.

You were feeling much better, and we saw bears.

Our favorite café was closed.

The radiation seemed like nothing after the chemo.

The top of the mountain was beautiful.

Your hair had grown back.

We returned to the hotel overlooking the town.

In October we went to the coast and ate oysters.

You really liked apple martinis.

I don’t think you ever had the fish tacos.

I do not want to talk to anyone

or go anywhere without you

Michael Cooney has published poetry in Badlands, Second Chance Lit, Bitter Oleander, Big Windows Review, and other journals. His short stories have appeared recently in Sundial Magazine, Bandit Fiction, and Cerasus - and his novella “The Witch Girl & The Wobbly” was published by Running Wild Press in 2021. He has taught in public high schools and community colleges and currently facilitates a writing workshop with the New York Writers Coalition.